


Equal Exchange (It’s a Slytherin thing)

by megyal



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, Multi, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-08-27
Updated: 2007-08-27
Packaged: 2017-10-23 09:51:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/249005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megyal/pseuds/megyal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Around Christmas time, Harry accidentally overhears his lovers that makes him think that Severus and Draco would be happier celebrating by themselves with an all-Slytherin party.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Equal Exchange (It’s a Slytherin thing)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [](http://slashfest.livejournal.com/profile)[**slashfest**](http://slashfest.livejournal.com/) and is posted over there as well, for [](http://draco-pet.livejournal.com/profile)[**draco_pet**](http://draco-pet.livejournal.com/) 's prompt.
> 
> Beta-read by [](http://winnett.livejournal.com/profile)[**winnett**](http://winnett.livejournal.com/) , so long ago; any mistakes are all mine.

Harry took a deep inhale, disregarding the acrid tinge in the air. There was blood welling out of his scar and he raised his wand-arm, dragging it across his forehead. He realised that his wand was missing only when the side of his thumb brushed over his eyebrows.

He looked around for it half-heartedly and then recalled that it had literally exploded in his hand during that last stand-off. He had felt his magic roaring right through his whole body, focussing into a single, furiously concentrated point of energy; right before his wand disintegrated, he had heard a faint sound, almost like low soft singing right in his ear. _Oh_ , he thought, staring at the blackened ground where Voldemort had been standing, _it must have been the feather of the phoenix_.

Someone barrelled into him and Harry grabbed on to their arms, feeling his magic stir restlessly. Without his wand, his magic was nearly wild again and reacted before he even think about it. The person was lifted off their feet, hovering a few inches in the air as his magic began to throttle them.

"Potter." Draco's voice was choked, but he still managed to thread disdain through it, eyes flashing down at Harry from an even greater height. Dismayed, Harry struggled to control himself, pulling in his magic and feeling it fight against him until Draco was lowered.

"I'm sorry! Draco, I--"

" _Severus_ ," Draco said desperately, looking at Harry with a plea in his eyes. "Where is he? I can't find him."

Harry felt himself go cold and the temperature around them dropped a few degrees. Draco stared at him and Harry looked away, seeing the faint silhouettes of people staggering about in the misty gloom. _It’s over_ , Harry told himself. _Everything should be perfect._

"He...I saw him over there, last," Harry finally said, pointing awkwardly towards a small hill. Draco did not spare him a second glance; he simply took off in that direction, his dark torn robes fluttering behind him. Harry ran as well, falling behind as Draco stumbled up the slope of the hill and disappeared over it. There was a sharp cry and Harry did not realise he was weeping as he ran, _knowing_ that the worst had happened. He fully expected to see Draco crouching beside the battered body of Snape, maybe kneeling on the bloodstained earth with his bright fall of hair pressing against that thin chest, like that one time Severus had managed to come visit Draco at Grimmauld Place; Draco had curled up next to Snape's unyielding body on the settee, head pressed against the dark material of Snape's robes as if he was assuring himself of Severus' heartbeat.

Harry had left them to their peaceful moment; he wished he could stop himself now.

He finally made his way over the hill and saw Draco.

He was _standing_ , folded in the embrace of Snape, hanging onto the thin form with every bit of strength he had. Harry paused, gasping from a stitch in his side and sheer relief; Snape, who was pressing his mouth against Draco's forehead and murmuring something, raised his eyes and gave Harry the smallest of smiles. Harry came forward slowly, drawn by the lack of cynicism in his expression. The sour expression was gone: Snape simply looked exhausted, yet relieved. Alive.

He was holding onto Draco as if he would never let go.

When Harry finally drew close, feeling skittish and unsure, Severus reached out a hand and stroked the back of his fingers down the side of Harry's face, intoning _Reparo_ to take care of Harry's cracked glasses. Harry tried to prevent his eyes from fluttering shut in delight at the touch; he was aware that Draco was peering at him from the sanctuary of Snape's hold, his face unreadable.

"Harry." Severus' voice was low and it seemed as if he was trying the name in his voice, testing the fit of it. "Harry... you have done a satisfactory job."

"Th-thank you," Harry replied with a wry twist of his mouth, not quite sure if this was the right answer. "I...I couldn't have done it without your help."

"Certainly not." Severus brushed Harry's damp hair away from his scar, frowning. He wiped away the blood and seemed satisfied that the bleeding had stopped. They both started as Draco pulled away, looking up at Severus and then at Harry, considering. Then, quickly, as if he was giving himself no time to think, he bent forward and kissed Harry, right at the corner of his mouth.

"Oh," Harry breathed, feeling as if his whole face was shining as Draco pulled back. He closed his eyes in contentment as Severus did the same on the other side; he reached out impulsively and grasped onto each of their hands, wanting to pull the both of them close. They were safe now and so was he and maybe, _just maybe_ , they could--

"Your friends are calling," Severus said to him in a curiously blank voice. Draco slipped one arm around Severus' waist as he swayed a little, steadying him, forcing Harry to reluctantly release their hands. "Go. Celebrate."

"Come with me." Harry knew he sounded a little desperate; maybe because he was. "We can all go back there together and--"

"Not now." Snape gave him another of those slight smiles and Harry wanted to hold onto it and tuck it for safekeeping in his heart.

"Go on, Potter," Draco said without malice. Harry stared at them both and then backed away, hearing his name being called in the distance behind him. Severus and Draco were now gazing at each other, as if Harry had ceased to exist. He almost could feel a barrier go up between himself and them; he turned and fled.

****  
 _December 11, 2006 (3:45 pm)_  


"Take a deep, slow breath, Hermione," Harry murmured, his hands resting on Hermione's swollen stomach. The flickering colour image hovering over his hands and her belly showed the twins moving around, tiny fingers and toes wriggling restlessly to some unheard beat. He smiled and moved the projection to the wall so that she and Ron could see it. "Look, there's Leon, sucking his thumb.... and there's Noelle."

"Wow," Ron said, smiling broadly as he held Hermione's hand between his large ones. "Just...wow. They'll soon be here. I can hardly wait."

"Me neither," Hermione laughed and Ron kissed her on the forehead.

"Um-hmm." Harry ended the scan-spell and re-activated the charm for the overhead lights. He picked up Hermione's chart and made a few notes with his quill. "Your sugar level is back under control, Hermione. Everything else looks fine."

"Thanks, Harry." Hermione grimaced a bit as she sat up in the bed, assisted by Ron. She gave him a surprisingly shy look, strange in the place of her frank, confident expression. "How...how are your partners?"

Harry gripped his quill a little too hard in surprise and steadfastly finished the sentence he was writing. "They're fine."

He could see them exchange a quick look and dampened his slight feeling of exasperation; he really had to give them credit for trying. He was a part of a Wizarding triad now and it was very good for him. Peaceful, controllable. He _needed_ his partners.

"We were just wondering when we'd get an invitation to your bonding ceremony," Ron put in, chuckling a little weakly. Harry finally stared up at him, expression bland. "I mean...well, Snape and Malfoy were bonded before you joined them, right? So, you know..." Ron faltered at Harry's continuing look of polite calm.

"A triad usually has another ceremony to include the third partner," Hermione explained gently. Harry bit the inside of his lip and then gave the fullest, brightest smile he could muster, making sure that the mask he had learned to wear during and after the war was firmly in place. Ron and Hermione relaxed and smiled back.

"I know. As soon as we finish working it all out, I'll make sure to tell you," he said smoothly and felt his insides clench. Draco and Severus had been a comfortable couple long before he became their third. There was no need to disrupt their bond for him. He managed to smile as his friends bid him a cheerful farewell, Ron's hand steady at Hermione's elbow as he led her out the door of Harry's small private practice on Medic Alley, pulling up the hood of her cloak as a light snow fell about them. Harry went to the window of the now empty waiting-room to watch their progress down the pathway, one hand in the pocket of his green tunic. Ron's head was bent to Hermione's, the two of them talking and laughing so close together.

He suddenly felt an overwhelming rush of loneliness.

It was something he could live with now.

****  
 _June 14, 2003_  


 _They are beautifu_ l, Harry realised with a shock as Severus placed a charming kiss on Draco's smiling mouth. Draco was striking, his long golden robes were setting off the glow in his cheeks, shading the lightness of his hair into a warmer tone. Snape, in severe black, was so _'distinguished_ ', as Hermione put it. His hair had grown back; it had become even more stringy and greasy during the war. Now, it was obviously under the ministrations of Draco, thicker and almost halfway down his back in a tight braid. There was a line of white starting from his temple and weaving solemnly in the mass of dark hair, the only sign of the immense stress he had been under during the last battle, mostly carrying the weight of a tremendous Binding Spell on Voldemort as Harry had cast the Killing Curse.

It was so hard to believe that the war had ended just a few years ago. People were rebuilding their lives; Hermione was still worried about a curse that had been thrown at Harry by Voldemort at the very last minute, but there were no manifestations of anything out-of-the-ordinary. Not yet.

Harry found himself sitting in a bower, the climbing plants and the lattice-work throwing a complex shadow on his best dress-robes, competing with the intricate silver edging on the material. He wanted to go forward with the rest of the gathering, to give his heartfelt congratulations, but his heart was busy shivering in his chest. He reached out a finger and stroked along the edge of a leaf and all of a sudden, loneliness barrelled up inside his throat, bitter as gall and he fought to push it down. He felt his magic clench around him, setting off a tremor in the thick leaves of the plant and he reined it in. Barely.

The bower seat rocked gently as Draco sat beside him, shining like the sun.

"Thank you for coming, Harry," Draco remarked. "It means a lot to myself and Severus."

"It was a lovely ceremony," Harry said to the large flowers of the climbing plant. "You look...both of you look wonderful. Happy."

There was a long pause and Harry looked across the riotous flowers to catch Severus' black gaze resting heavily on them from across the sunny space of the garden-room. The look was smoky with contemplation and Harry could not look away. Draco's mouth was suddenly against his ear.

"If you weren't so stubborn, we could be--" he started, and then pressed his lips tightly together as Harry gave him forbidding look. They've been through this argument before, a few times. He had felt he should have made a choice between them and so he didn't, not wanting to hurt either of them...and now they were with each other. Happy. He wondered briefly if this had been the right path to take and then squared his shoulders, settling it within himself.

"You're perfect for each other," Harry said with as honest a smile as he could, getting up out of the rocking seat and making his way though the small crowd to the door. He had a small hope that one or the other will stop him, but he was not really surprised when he made it out the door without anyone calling his name.

****  
 _December 23, 2006 (6:24 pm)_  


Harry Apparated to a small, well-appointed room in the Manor, fidgeting with the clasp on his over-robes. It was a two headed snake that he had received for his birthday, each mouth firmly grasping the material of his robes. He pressed his hand flat on the clasp and it released with a double _snick_. He gave the cloak to the elf that had come to attend to him and rolled his eyes at its persistent bowing and scraping.

"I'm fine."

He had told Draco that he didn't even _need_ a personal elf, but Draco had insisted, claiming that the elves would be highly offended if a resident of the manor did not use their services... and Harry didn't want to _offend_ any of them, did he? Harry had glared at him and Draco smiled as if Harry was something tasty and he was _just_ starting to feel a little peckish; there was pouncing and strident yells; Severus stomping in from the new Potions lab downstairs, smelling like... like freshly sanded _something_ , pine or cedar; before he could say _be quiet, fools_ , they had had him seated on the high-backed armchair, right there in the Blue Sitting Room, trying to stifle his moans as Draco whispered naughty things in his ear, tucking back the long strands of hair that escaped from Severus' braid, while Harry took him carefully into the warmth of his mouth.

He grinned to himself as he made his way down dim corridors to the Blue Room. It was his favourite, mostly due to the lack of nosy portraits and the presence of comfortable seats that made themselves bigger for three persons. He liked to think that they spent a lot of time there, because _he_ , Harry, liked it.

As he neared the sitting room, he could hear their voices coming out of the half-opened door and he found himself hardening a little at the mere sound of their voices. They had such power over him. They knew the extent of some of it; they helped to keep his wild magic under control. However, they did not know the way their smiles sustained him for an entire day, how an argument with any of them upset him terribly, until the comforting net they had woven with the force of their own bond strove under the impatience of his almost-uncontrollable magic. Many times, it was a very close thing and he thought he would have to go to them to reinforce the net.

"...and it's just a _party_ , Draco."

He paused right next to the door, frowning. He could hear the rustling of paper; Draco was going through the day's post.

"I know." Draco sighed and there was a slight creak as he shifted. "It's just that...we haven't seen many of them in so long. It would be good for them and us, Slytherin House together again, just like we used to for our end-of-term Christmas parties."

"Hmm." Severus' reply was noncommittal, but Harry could almost imagine the dark eyes shining at the mention of the house he had headed for so long.

"They haven't sent an invitation for Harry," Draco said, more whispers of parchment indicating a search. "No. They haven't. I don't know why they would, anyway. That would be highly suspicious."

"We're Slytherins," Severus said drily. " _Everything_ is suspicious."

Draco laughed and Harry leaned against the wall, arms folded against his chest. A weight seemed to have settled in his stomach; he felt as if the hall was tilting a little.

"It's just that...at times, it's _hard_ being in an incomplete triad with him," Draco said thoughtfully and Harry closed his eyes. "Sometimes, your life is put on hold. Especially if he has a breakdown. I... I find myself being shunned by other Slytherins because of it. Not directly, of course, they wouldn't dare. But in little, offhand ways." Harry knew from the sound of his voice that he was annoyed at being treated carelessly like that. Draco was a Malfoy, through and through. He would record every slight, imagined or otherwise; then, he would exert his considerable political clout and charm to lure people in, until he could wreak his revenge. He could be spiteful and unkind, as much as Severus could be cutting and cool, but they had taken care of him as much as they could.

"So have I," Severus said. "It is not as large a problem to me as it is to you. But it can be... an affront."

Harry strode off back to the Apparition room, casting a spell to make his footfalls silent. His magic was shimmering under his skin, sliding in woeful streaks of energy until the hair on his arms stood up. The bond-net was holding up fine, though. Maybe he had been expecting this all along; he wasn't particularly upset. He just felt... a little sad to find out he was more a burden than anything else.

His elf was there, eyes large when they asked where he was going. He told it that he would be going back to his office and doing some more work.

"If Master Malfoy and Master Snape ask for me," he ordered, "Tell them that I came and left immediately, because I... I forgot something I had to do."

The elf looked doubtful but nodded. His excuse probably sounded flimsy to it as well, but Harry simply squared his shoulders and Apparated back to his darkened office. He felt strangely muffled inside as he lay on a chaise-lounge in his back-room and tried to fall asleep.

****  
 _May 10, 2006_  


Harry opened his eyes, blinking at the patterned ceiling. _Oh, so this is how the patients feel_ , he mused and then tried to give a watery smile to his superior as she loomed over him.

"Healer Potter," Fernwood said. "This is getting out of hand."

Harry pressed the heel of one hand against his temple, muttering an incantation to soothe the throbbing; at least his magic was calmer now. He had been in the Emergency ward earlier, struggling to save a mother and her child; his stress level had been high and he had not been meditating recently, not that the meditations did much. It had degenerated when he had tried to cast a protective bubble over the premature baby; his magic had exploded, propelling him backwards to crash into a wall.

"Is Mrs. Spinnet alright? And the baby?" Alicia would maul him with her broomstick if anything happened to her sister-in-law and nephew. Healer Fernwood's frown seemed to lighten a bit.

"They're doing well. Although we had a hell of a time dismantling that ward you put over the baby." She sighed and sat beside him, pouring a glass of water from a pitcher on the bedside table and handing it to him. She regarded him with her sharp brown eyes as she spoke. "The curse that the Dark Lord… _Voldemort_ threw at you... it can be degenerative. You already know it causes your magic to revert to its wild stage erratically. Baby magic," she said with a slight smile and then wrinkled her nose. "Although there's nothing childish about your wild magic."

"Tell me about it," Harry muttered and Healer Fernwood shook her head.

"If left unchecked, your magic will become more and more uncontrollable. You could _lose_ it, Potter. You need a very powerful wizard to help you to bind it back to you, to return it under your control. You can't do this yourself, Harry." Her smile became a little harder. "And you can't put the patients in such danger. I know you have your own practice but if the Ministry feels that you are a threat, your license will be revoked."

Harry placed his hands on his face, reaching his fingers underneath his glasses and pressing over the hot eyelids. He heard a sharp rap at the door and Healer Fernwood's sharp command of _enter_.

"Harry." Draco voice was loud in the small room and Harry peered from between his fingers in surprise. Draco and Severus were standing just inside the door, simply watching him. Fernwood raised her eyebrows at them and then turned to gaze at Harry, who was cursing his penchant for blushing as he dropped his hands.

"I'll be in my office, Healer Potter," Fernwood stood to depart, giving Draco a polite nod and Severus a very tiny delighted smile. Harry rolled his eyes a little. Fernwood had always said that her favourite subject at Hogwarts had been Potions; Harry thought she might have had a strange crush on her head of house at the time.

"Miss Verain," Severus said with a smooth smirk and Fernwood's smile grew a little more at the use of her maiden name. "A pleasure to see you."

"I'm happy to see you, too, Professor," Fernwood said, obviously tamping down on her excitement. She went through the door rapidly and Harry fixed a courteous expression on his face.

"Did our little dinner last night get you all upset today?" Draco mocked, his smile softening the words. Harry shook his head and looked away, wishing that there was a window he could moodily gaze out of. "We meant what we said, Harry."

"It was just surprising, that's all. That the both of you... and me..." Harry felt his face flaming again and made a note to find some spell to get rid of that. _Really_ ; but he couldn't help it, remembering what they had proposed to him last night over a private dinner at the Manor; it was enough to make a goblin red-faced.

"We wouldn't ask you if we didn't want to," Severus informed him gruffly. "The both of us."

"My magic," Harry tried to explain. "Right now, it's... acting up." What an understatement _that_ was.

"That's a fairly stupid excuse," Draco said and Harry glared at him.

"I'm _dangerous_ , you prat. The curse that Voldemort threw at me right before I--right before he died, it gets worse. I need a wizard strong enough to--"

"Bind it back to you, in a bond-net." Severus' eyes were fixed on his. "Harry. There were only two wizards strong enough on their own to do that. Voldemort and Dumbledore."

The silence reigned in the room but Harry could not figure why they were now smiling.

"What?" He sounded a bit petulant but their grins became wider. Well, Draco's became positively predatory, while Severus', while it didn't get any bigger, it got more... _eager_.

"But two bonded people can generate enough power to do that, without strain on the bond," Draco said with relish. "And how convenient! We want in your pants, you need the strength of our bond. Equal exchange, my, my."

Severus and Harry both shook their heads at him; Harry could hardly believe he was having such a conversation with them, a continuation of last night’s blush-worthy dinner. It had been very different in his mind: He had dreamed that the both of them would murmur that they _desired_ him to be a part of their lives as they kissed and touched him reverently. It was a sappy daydream, he knew that, but he reasoned that everyone was entitled to a bit of sappiness now and again. No, he wouldn't subject himself to such a one-sided approach. He would have _loved_ to be physically involved... if he hadn't been halfway in love with them both already. It would be far too much to take, knowing that there was nothing really coming from their end.

"I can ask Ron and Hermione."

"Their bond is currently dedicated to protecting their unborn children," Severus said, drawling tone a bit snappish; Draco actually rubbed his hands together and Severus pinched the bridge of his nose in a mixture of annoyed amusement. "If you don't want this, Potter--"

"I do," Harry blurted and then averted his eyes as they both stared at him. He inhaled slowly, holding his breath a little and then exhaling as he made up his mind, gazing back at them. "I do." He smiled shyly. "I've actually wanted this for a long time."

"Then," Draco smiled, coming forward to take his hand and squeeze it. "You shall have it."

****  
 _December 24, 2006 (12:36 am)_  


Harry moaned restlessly, turning his head from side to side. Someone was yelling at him urgently, needing his help, but he couldn't, he _couldn't_ , he didn't have the strength of a paired bond to help control his magic and now it was out of control and he was useless to _them_ and to everyone else, _they_ didn't need him as much as he needed them--

He jumped awake and the voice was practically sobbing outside his office door. He jumped out of the lounge and dashed over to the door, wrenching it open. The Floo was active and Ron's head was sitting in the green flames.

"Harry! Hermione, she's--she's in _pain_ , Harry, she says it's coming regularly, like waves and I couldn't find you! I had to call the Manor and Malfoy said you were still here and I called here first and there was no answer, I called your office up by St Mungo's and _you weren't there_ \--"

"It's alright, Ron." Harry reached for the small black bag that was always on a stand by his door, filled with the appropriate potions. He walked quickly over the Floo and stepped in, the already open connection pulling him right into the sitting area of their small flat. He could hear Hermione groaning gently in the bedroom and he took a few seconds to breathe deeply, making sure his magic wasn't running amok and that the net was standing firm.

Everything in good order. Apart from that persistent sensation in his chest that was simply an emotional burn, he was doing fine. Just fine.

He patted Ron's arm reassuringly, shrugging on his easy bedside manner like a well-loved cloak. Fernwood had once said to him that _this_ was what made him such a good Healer: his ability to make people feel truly cared for.

"Hello," he smiled at Hermione as she lay struggling for breath on the bed. As soon as she saw him, her respiration evened out noticeably.

"They're early," she said to him in a low, strangled voice. "I thought I would have had a few more weeks left but I suppose they're impatient."

"Like their parents." Harry grinned at her and then opened his bag, taking out three of the small brightly-coloured vials. "Are you ready? Of course you are. Let's begin."

****  
 _December 24, 2006 (8:13 am)_  


Harry was rocking Noelle when Draco fire-called. Hermione was resting and Ron was half-asleep on the couch with Leon safely ensconced in his arms. Harry had made sure that the babies' vital signs were strong enough and he had been satisfied that they did not have to go to St. Mungo's.

Malfoy's glare was chilly but Harry was very used to being a constant recipient of a Malfoy Stare of Death. He calmly woke Ron, following him to place the twins in their cots beside Hermione and then gently pushing a grumbling Ron into bed with his wife, to get much needed sleep. Ron placed a hand around his wife's waist, their fingers intertwining even as they slept. Harry smiled a little as he shut the door; then he went back out to speak to Draco.

"You know I hate waiting, Harry," Draco snapped, the green flames of the Floo roaring silently about his hair.

"I'm sorry." Harry knelt by the Floo and regarded Draco solemnly, who seemed taken aback by this quick apology. "I need to stay here with Hermione, to help her keep an eye on the twins. They're still very frail. Maybe for another week or so."

Draco stared at him. Harry kept his face and mind perfectly blank; he hadn't lived with two Slytherins to have not picked up something _useful_.

"It's Christmas _Eve_ , Harry." Draco's voice was pitched low.

Harry replied, as levelly as he dared, "They really need me here." He gave a faint smile. "They're only a few hours old."

"I see." Draco's head was tilted away slightly, looking at Harry from the corner of his eye. "In that case. We won't be here at the Manor this evening, then. We have a function to attend, Severus and I."

"Have fun."

They were staring at each other for a moment, before Draco shifted a bit and Severus' frowning face drifted into view close beside his.

"Is there anything they need?"

Harry shook his head, unable to speak. More than likely, this was the beginning of the end of whatever short time they had together. They had helped him with the power of their bond; his magic was much more stable now. And in exchange, he had willingly gone into _their bed_ , touching and whispering; tasting and smelling; teaching and learning. It was more than he had ever asked for.

"I suppose that will be all, then," Severus said formally.

"Yes, I believe so."

If Harry had been the melodramatic type, he would have flung himself on the couch as soon as the Floo-connection was terminated. As it was, being a bit more pragmatic than most people gave him credit for, he nipped into the main bedroom to check the babies' breathing, gave both Hermione and Ron a quick diagnostic and set the temperature a little higher.

Then, he lay on the sofa and scrubbed helplessly at his eyes.

****  
 _December 26, 2006 (2:23 pm)_  


The babies breathed steadily, Harry's wand passing over the little bodies with a practiced wave. Noelle clenched her hand into a little fist and Leon twitched under the cool touch of magic. They shifted and stretched slightly, obviously coming awake to cry for a feeding; Harry went out quickly to the kitchen, where Hermione and Ron were whipping up a late Boxing Day meal and then drew up short.

Draco was sitting in the living-area, his mouth a thin white line. Harry eyed him; Draco was dressed in that elaborately-edged robe that Harry loved to see him in, the collar high with a line of silver buttons. His hair was caught up at the crown of his head, exposing the sharp planes of his face, softened only by a few escaped wisps of hair. Harry felt distinctly at a disadvantage in the clothes he had borrowed from Ron, shrunken to fit his slender frame. Draco's eyes drifted up to his uncombed hair and Harry resisted the urge to tug nervously at the ends.

"Thank you, Granger." Draco barely got this past his lips, they were pinched together that hard. Hermione was gingerly pouring him a cup of tea and Harry walked over to sit beside her, taking the pot of tea and setting it down. She smiled at Harry and brushed hair out of his eyes before getting up, giving them both questioning looks and then heading out the door. She paused as Draco spoke up again. "Congratulations on the additions to your family."

"Thank you." Hermione's face was soft and open, her thoughts obviously bent towards her children. "It's nice to feel like a family. Finally." With a pointed look to Draco, she finally exited, leaving Draco to gaze at Harry.

"How was the Slytherin party?" Harry tucked his legs under himself, feeling chilly. Draco's stare did not change in intensity, but it seemed to shift, become more considering.

"Lovely. But I did not tell you we were attending a Slytherin party, from what I recall."

"I must have been better at Divination than I thought, then."

"I do not know what your _problem_ is," Draco said in a low voice, the one he used to bully people to do his will. "But I think you're being silly. Come home."

Harry bit his lips and then hunched his shoulders a little.

"I'm really grateful for what you and Severus did for me. You've made life... bearable, I guess. Now that my magic is stable, I'm sure I can manage on my own." _I'm sure I must_.

"So. You'll be leaving the Manor? Who's going to help you if it gets out of control again? The _Weasleys_?" He sneered as he looked about the room, eyes cataloguing and dismissing items in the small cheerful space. Harry was sure he had known the exact worth of everything within a five-foot radius from the moment he had stepped out of the Floo. "Your magic is extremely comfortable within our net. You leave that, all our hard work is undone. You might relapse."

"But it won't be a burden to you anymore." Harry looked away quickly as Draco's gaze snapped back to him. "I _never_ wanted to be a burden." The words seemed to struggle in his throat, pressing against his chest. "I wish it was more than our mutual _needs_ that kept us together." Draco made a strange strangled huff and Harry steadfastly kept his gaze fixed on the teapot. He heard the expensive rustle of Draco's robes and thought that he would be coming over to Harry; instead, the roar of the Floo indicated an abrupt end to the conversation.

"He's gone already?" Ron peered through the doorway and squinted at Harry curled up in the couch. "Harry? Hey. Um. Are you _crying_?"

"No," Harry said half-crossly, making sure his fringe was hiding his eyes. "Why would I be crying? I'm far too old for that." He paused as Hermione swept in with a twin perched on each arm as if she was well-practiced at it. "It was just equal exchange. Sex for magic, I guess."

"That was probably too much information, mate." Ron took a baby from Hermione, grimacing at Harry. "But what else did you want? True love?"

"That would have been nice," Harry hedged and then shrugged at their raised eyebrows. "What? They're really not that bad."

"We'll take your word for it." Hermione's voice was dry and it drew a reluctant grin from Harry. "But what makes you think that they don't love you?" Noelle fussed and Hermione struggled a little to undo her top and take out a breast; Ron looked very interested in these proceedings. "I mean. They _have_ shared their bond with you."

"It wasn't anything permanent. It wasn't going to be. I know, I know." He gave a wry smile at their matching frowns. "I thought so too...but no."

"Slytherins are different, Harry," Ron said slowly. "I mean. Look at it this way: The bond-net could have been done without the... _bed_ part. You could have exchanged some other way. And...well, Slytherins are picky. They don't sleep with just _anyone_. Also, I cannot believe I am talking to you about this."

"But. They've never _said_ anything."

Hermione huffed, now trying to convince Leon to take some milk as Ron gingerly patted his daughter's back.

"It's a Slytherin thing. They all have this terribly complicated code. They probably feel they don't have to say anything to you."

Harry rest his hand on his bare ankle, forefinger pressing into the bone contemplatively. He thought about the way Draco and Severus seemed to have conversations within conversations, clever innuendo hiding within innocent discussions of the day. Harry was far too straight-forward to cultivate such a speech pattern, but a few times, he was able to pick up on the hidden conversation; this was how he had discovered that Draco and Severus were horrid gossips.

"So instead of just wanting to shag me into the mattress, they might actually want me for me." Harry's slight grin was hopeful. Ron made a face.

"Yeah, but could you not say it like that? There are delicate ears here. And the babies might hear too."

****  
 _December 26, 2006 (9:47 pm)_  


"Master Harry Potter is staying home?" his elf asked in a long-suffering manner as he walked out of the private Apparition area and headed for the Blue Room. "Master Harry Potter is upsetting the balance of the house," the elf told him in disapproving tones and Harry looked down at it in surprise as it skittered beside him. "When Master Harry Potter was staying home, the balance was good. Now Master Draco and Master Severus is feeling wrong and the whole house is not balanced."

"Well, I wasn't aware that I _balanced_ this house." Harry caught the large shocked expression of the elf out of the corner of his eye. "I really didn't _know_."

"How could Master Harry Potter not know this?" The elf said in genuine confusion. Harry rolled his eyes; apparently, his was a Slytherin elf. He was left alone to enter the Blue Room.

Severus looked at him from the large sofa, a flicker of surprise in those dark eyes being quickly squelched. Cuddled up right beside him, Draco gazed at Harry as well, his own eyes large and grey in his face, making him appear unusually vulnerable; he looked so very young, even though he was still dressed in his severe robes from earlier. It was very strange for Draco to be still wearing such clothing at this time of night. Their hair was undone, long blonde hair falling with black and silver.

"Happy Christmas," Harry said softly, closing the door and leaning against it. They simply looked at him and he screwed up his courage. He had not been using it lately, not at all. "I--"

"You're not a burden." Severus' voice was silken in the gloom of the room. The fire was a little more than glowing embers but Harry could see their faces clearly. "You never were."

"I don't know why you would think that." Draco's voice was sullen and Harry strove for patience.

He said, "I heard you say it. You said that being in a triad with me could be... troublesome."

Draco rolled his eyes and pulled away from Severus, glaring at Harry as he reached for a small blue box on the low coffee-table. "Of course it is... _now_. The triad isn't complete until we're all bonded. Idiot," and now he was looking at Harry with a guarded sort of warmth. "Slytherins are supposed all about proper standing."

"A bit old fashioned," Severus put in, taking the box from Draco with a nimble dip of fingers. "But we shouldn't have been... so _involved_ with you without a full bond." That faint smile that Harry adored touched his lips. "But we could hardly resist." He held out his hand, the box sitting in the middle of his palm.

Harry hesitated, but there was no change in their expression. They sat still, waiting for him.

He crossed the room quickly and took the box out of Severus' palm, brushing his fingers against the dry skin. He looked at them both before opening it, barely suppressing a huge grin at the silver ring resting on a velveteen base, its filigreed pattern matching the ones Severus and Draco wore on their left finger.

"Once we're bonded, your magic would be even more stable," Severus said gently, reaching out and pulling Harry to sit in between them, legs trailing over Severus' lap as Draco crowded up against his other side and breathed softly in his ear.

"And we'll be a full triad and shag you until you scream," Draco whispered conspiratorially. Harry, who was just beginning to learn what Slytherins _really_ meant underneath their words, simply smiled and allowed Draco to slide the ring onto his finger.


End file.
